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Notched inner cover

I have had a notched inner cover on my first hive since day 1.. First year beek.. At first i had hive body, notched inner cover, then and empty deep for feeding.. The bees used the notch entrance just fine.. When i added a second deep and removed the empty deep up top they bees kept going to the place where the notch use to be trying to get it. I figured they would eventually go up a box and find their entry way. (yes i had the telescoping cover slid forward so they could get to it).. Now heading into fall, they never have used that entrance again. 2 deep hive body, just added a second super a week ago (just in time for goldenrod to make it smell like work boots) and still the bees make no effort to use the top entrance. Is there a reason they dont use it? It seems very not efficient to walk all the way from the bottome board to the top super to store away necter n such. Bees seem to be very efficient in everything, why would they avoid the easiest way to store their findings??

Re: Notched inner cover

Your making the assumption that it would be the easiest entrance. The bees however will use the access that best suits them at the time. The upper entrance is important to keep in place for colder weather, proper ventilation, and a means for the bees to use for winter cleaning flights once the colony moves upward to access theirwinter stores.

"Tradition becomes our security, and when the mind is secure it is in decay".....Krishnamurti

Re: Notched inner cover

I find that even with a telescoping cover slid forward my bees will not make use of the notch in the inner cover as an upper entrance. For wintertime I reverse the inner cover (so that the notch is down) and put insulation on top of the inner cover which serves to clear the upper entrance of all obstructions. Bees use the entrance all winter. I have 7/8" auger holes in the front of my boxes near the upper right corner as you face the box from the front of the hive and the bees use that all the time as an entrance. I cover the auger hole with duct tape for winter and wrap the hive with roofing felt.

Re: Notched inner cover

>How so?

Usually the idea of drilling a hole is either for a top entrance or for ventilation. I don’t like holes in my equipment. Here are times I regretted drilling holes:
• Times I wanted to close up a hive and forgot the hole. (moving and using a bee escape come to mind)
• Times I accidentally put my hand either over, under or in the hole when lifting the super.
• Times in winter when I wanted to close it up more.
• Times that a hive gets weak and forgets to guard both entrances and they get robbed and I have to find a way to close it off.
• Times that I need a box without a hole and the only one handy has a hole in it.

There is nothing you accomplish by putting a hole in the box that you can't do by sliding the box back 3/4” or putting in a couple of shingle shims or using a Imirie shim.

If you have holes in your equipment you can plug them with a tin can lid tacked over the hole. In the beeyard in a pinch you can plug them temporarily with a wad of beeswax. But you have to remember it's there...

Re: Notched inner cover

I don't use any other ones unless I have some reason to want to use an excluder (which I hardly ever do) and then I put an Imirie shim below the excluder so the drones can get out and a queen can get out to mate.